Editorial: State aircraft policy must be tightened

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. -- At the bottom of all the rubble in the Spitzer administration scandal involving Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno is the state policy on the use of state aircraft.

For release Monday

At the bottom of all the rubble in the Spitzer administration scandal involving Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno is the state policy on the use of state aircraft.

In short, that policy needs to be much tighter.

The scheme to discredit and embarrass Bruno that unraveled last week was based on the majority leader's use of a state helicopter, specifically, a state police helicopter. Opponents claimed Bruno had used the helicopter to attend Republican fundraisers in Manhattan.

As it turned out, the investigation by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office found that Bruno had met with leaders in Manhattan on state business during the times in question, and the fundraisers he attended were at the end of the legislative business day. That's allowed under the state's weak ethics policy, a policy Cuomo described as "overly permissive and porous and allows for an abuse of taxpayer funds."

Such a lax policy is easy to abuse. Face it, "legislative business" is more likely to be planned around political fundraisers than vice versa, and that cheats taxpayers. In fact, the attorney general's office found that although each of the 10 trips taken by Bruno this year involving the helicopter included legislative business, some of that business occupied only a small part of the business day.

Clearly, the policy on state aircraft should be revised, as recommended by the attorney general, to provide stricter, clearer guidance concerning aircraft use in connection with official state business. Part of that revision must clearly state under what circumstances, if any, use of that aircraft is allowed to be combined with political or personal use.

Taxpayers should not have to subsidize either.

Furthermore, why not require lawmakers and other state officials to do what most employees in private business do? Use their own transportation and submit well-documented vouchers for public reimbursement. Maybe if state officials had to drive their own vehicles or use public transit they'd have a better sense of the people they represent.

Forking over a fifty to fill up at the pump, paying tolls or waiting for a late train could provide a good dose of reality that many lawmakers don't have. Getting out there with the people just might inspire them to work a little harder to help them survive.